Knowledge and perception as drivers of telenursing adoption among undergraduate nursing students in University of Calabar, Calabar.

BACKGROUND

Telenursing, the application of telecommunications technology to deliver nursing care, is increasingly recognized as a strategy to enhance healthcare access and efficiency. Understanding undergraduate nursing students' knowledge and perception of telenursing is critical for guiding curriculum development and promoting technology adoption in future practice.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 276 undergraduate nursing students at the University of Calabar, selected through stratified random sampling. Data were collected using a structured, self-administered questionnaire and analyzed with descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests. Perception was categorized as "good" when students scored ≥70% on the Likert scale section of the instrument.

RESULTS

Most students (96.0%) were aware of telenursing; however, only 22.8% had direct exposure to telenursing tools, and 13.4% were familiar with applications such as teleconferencing or teleconsultation. Less than half recognized its role in continuing nursing care (47.8%) or its usefulness in managing chronic conditions and surgical patients (34.1%). Overall, 49.3% of students demonstrated good perception, while 50.7% had poor perception. Significant associations were observed between perception and knowledge scores (P < 0.05), as well as between knowledge and students' year of study and digital literacy levels (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Despite high awareness of telenursing, practical exposure and comprehensive understanding remain limited among undergraduate nursing students in Nigeria. Integrating targeted telenursing training, enhancing digital literacy, and redesigning nursing curricula are recommended to improve readiness for technology-driven healthcare delivery.